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Child Support Technology
wins Cabinet for Families and Children National Award
October 1,
2003
In September,
Kentucky's Cabinet for Families and Children was awarded the "Commissioner's
Award for Creative Use of Automation in Increasing Efficiency"
by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. The award
was a result of a project that used teamwork and technology to
help bring those in need a little closer to the support they deserve.
When
it comes to collecting child support, Kentucky is facing an overwhelming
task. Today, over $1.2 billion in child support obligations are
currently delinquent statewide. Last year, Kentucky paid $97.7
million in public assistance to those who were entitled to child
support. The Cabinet for Families and Children (CFC) decided to
use teamwork and technology to combat the problem of delinquent
support payments.
With the help
of Kentucky's Revenue Cabinet and the Governor's Office for Technology,
a project was developed to tap into the automated process already
in place by the Revenue Cabinet for seizing financial assets.
An interface was created between CFC and the Revenue cabinet to
allow for fast and efficient processing of arrearages due and
receipts for collecting child support. In July 2002, the Kentucky
General Assembly granted the Cabinet the authority to use the
same collection tools to collect delinquent child support that
are used for collecting delinquent taxes. The project kicked off
in January of 2003. In its first three months, over $90,000 was
collected with money going to back support, Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) and medical arrearages.
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